A/N: Here we are, 2 years and 10 months later with an update.

"We could go back."

Kung Jin offered the statement over the steaming cup of tea that he held in his hands.

He was only using it for the warmth though.

He still couldn't quite get past the thought of drinking it without feeling like he might throw up afterwards.

The storm had reached what felt like an impasse for the time being. It still circulated on the horizon all around them, but had seemingly opened a clearing around the temple- leaving them with this false sense of calm and quiet. Kung Jin assumed it was the eye of the storm, but it wasn't like the storm was moving. It felt more like it was just rotating in place, circling above the Jinsei Temple like a heavy weight- like a curse, one that was anchored to the fallen Thunder God.

There was no reason for a storm like this to have an eye- and yet, that's exactly how this one felt.

Regardless, the calm that it brought with it was a nice break from the thundering and chaos.

Kung Jin had almost forgotten how quiet the Wind Temple could be on it's own.

The pause in hail and rain allowed for the two of them to access other portions of the temple for the time being. And a brief walk around the soaked courtyards offered a breather that the both of them needed- if only to make their way back to the small dormitory that Kung Jin had woken up in that same morning.

It only consisted of three bedrooms, two of which had never been used, and a small functional kitchen that had only seen a handful of activity.

He was probably the first guest that had stayed here overnight in centuries.

Even Fujin himself didn't stay overnight often; he usually did his work and then returned to the Jinsei Temple.

Still, despite the rather desolate buildings, there were still enough supplies stockpiled to make something warm to drink.

It felt like the Wind Temple fluctuated between being a comfortable, if not humid, temperature, and just being outright freezing. And right now, Kung Jin could feel the chill of broken window guards and a frozen hardwood floor in his bones. The atmosphere still felt tight in his chest and every breath seemed to breathe a chill through his body, which only made him feel colder. He had pulled the thick blanket from his bedding and used it as a buffer between him and the chilled flooring, but it seemed to do little good.

And even then, the chill in his bones felt different to the cold bumps on his skin.

"- Unless you think we'll get obliterated by the storm," Kung Jin finished, as he brought the steaming cup closer to his face now.

Fujin offered a small chuckle at the statement and brought his cup to his lips to drink. "No, the energy is stable for the time being- and stationary as well; it is at it's safest right now, but I do not foresee it lasting long. If we decide to return to the ground, there is a good chance that we will not be able to come back here, at least not soon. And not without complications."

The God paused, seemingly more taken in by the cup in his hands and by the thoughts going through his head.

"Of course, that is not a bad thing either," he continued. "There is not much to do up here other than to observe what is happening below."

Kung Jin could argue with the man on that, but decided to keep it to himself.

Staying up here also kept them out of the direct path of the storm, allowing them to avoid the hazards that those on the ground had had to deal with. Of course, the meteor incident from before was still fresh on his mind- and Kung Jin was pretty certain no one on ground-level liked it either. Especially since Cassie had mentioned how the Special Forces base had basically retreated to their underground bunkers to avoid the hazards.

"Will the temple survive in your absence?" Kung Jin questioned.

"It has weathered many storms," Fujin assured. "None quite like this one, but it should serve no different. I specifically designed this temple to move on its own, so no matter how strong the wind becomes, it will move with the current for safety- ensuring that it is always rotating itself out of danger. It will be fine without my presence, perhaps even better."

Perhaps, being a key word here.

But Kung Jin had seen the Wind Temple in action before.

He had witnessed its multiple platforms rising and falling throughout the day and night.

And it had survived the storm up until now; there was no reason to believe that it might all come crashing down to the ground below.

"Do you wish to go back?"

Kung Jin shrugged in answer at first, choosing to focus on how warm the steam felt against his skin.

While he had been the one to bring up the topic of going back to the ground, the idea of doing so didn't exactly appeal to him. Some aspects of it did, but not everything about it brought out a level of commitment to the idea. But he knew that Fujin would want to go- and he knew that Fujin would only go if he went as well, otherwise the God would stay wherever he was staying.

Fujin was taking his position as self-made caretaker a little seriously.

"It's complicated," he eventually started. "I don't really care one way or the other- I mean, we're still going to get stuck in this storm either way we look at it, regardless of where we're standing. But... I guess it has been awhile. It wouldn't be too bad to catch up with everyone on how everything's been going on. Not that I haven't been enjoying your company."

"I will try not to be hurt."

Shaking his head at the remark, Kung Jin noted the Wind God's easy smile over the steam of his tea. "I don't know. It's like we're no good up here, but we won't be any better down there either. There's nothing we can change."

"I wouldn't look at it that way," Fujin remarked.

It was hard not to though.

After all, as far as Kung Jin was concerned, it wasn't like he was wrong.

There was nothing they could do for Raiden.

There was nothing they could do for the Revenant.

There was nothing they could do about the storm- nothing as of yet anyways.

But even then, regardless of where they stayed, all they could do was wait and hopefully ride the whole thing out. All they could do was hope that something good would be waiting for them at the end of it.

They were out of any other options.

And that was perhaps the most frustrating part of it.

"It wouldn't hurt for you to get checked out and ensure that you are still healing correctly."

It was a subtle broach on the topic that Kung Jin had shot down before.

A topic that Fujin apparently couldn't shake off.

Not that the God could be blamed.

"I'm fine," Kung Jin assured once more, hoping to sound more confident with his answer now. "If there was something seriously wrong with me, I think I would've known about it by now."

"You don't know that," Fujin countered.

"That is true."

The Wind God did have a point about there potentially being some underlying health concern that he wasn't aware of. But at the same time, if something was wrong, Kung Jin was certain he would've picked up on by now. Especially considering that he had been poisoned previously, which had made itself very well-known in the moment, and for the week that followed.

Unfortunately, his blatant agreement with the Wind God didn't seem to win him over any points.

Fujin just shook his head.

"We should have an open window for a few hours, we don't need to make a decision right now," Fujin moved on to assure, "- although it would be wise to keep it in mind."

"How do you know we have a window?" Kung Jin questioned.

"I just do."

He wanted to call the Wind God on the bluff, but he wasn't entirely sure if it was one.

As much as Kung Jin was enjoying the isolation and the silence that the Wind Temple offered, he was curious on how things were going on down below. He had come to the Wind Temple to take a break, to escape from the chaos to begin with; it was what he needed. But now he was thinking that maybe the extended isolation wasn't exactly the healthiest thing to keep doing.

He couldn't keep running away from everything.

Even if doing so gave him temporary peace of mind.

But just the thought of going back to ground level was enough to trigger a sensory overload in his head.

"What is it?"

The question was quiet- quiet enough that Kung Jin didn't hear it at first.

It only clicked a few seconds afterwards.

"Something's on your mind," Fujin continued, before he could question what the God had said in the first place. "I can see it in your eyes."

Kung Jin was pretty certain the man was just blowing smoke, but he also didn't doubt that his apprehension over the topic was showing- again, despite him being the one to bring it up.

He sighed and leaned back for a moment, setting his untouched cup of tea aside. "As much as I would love to bullshit you on this, I can't," Kung Jin admitted. "I know I brought this whole thing up, but a lot of things happened at the Jinsei Temple. And I know that everything that happened there is over with, but it doesn't really feel like it's over."

He was trying to get his head around what he wanted to say.

He could gloss over his physical ailments all he wanted.

But he couldn't exactly risk ignoring the damage he took on a mental level.

It was manageable while he was up here, separated from the war-torn frozen forest and battered courtyards of the Jinsei Temple. But even when he was up here, his mind was still preoccupied with the sounds of rouge grenades and the distant screaming of voices he could recognize.

The cold made his bones ache where they had been broken and fractured, reminding him once more of how they had been beaten into submission in Outworld.

The frozen forest had turned loose blood into crystals on his skin, creating an unnatural and painful form of clotting.

The blood in his lungs had felt like crystals as well- and it felt like the frozen blood cut open his throat every time he started hacking it up.

And then there was the Jinsei, scolding and blistering with red energy, boiling the air inside- threatening to blister his skin in the same manner.

And there was the puncture just under his right shoulder; a barbed appendage that had punched in and ripped out before he could understand what was going on. It left a fist-sized cavity that became filled with congealed blood, thick with pus and poison. Kung Jin could barely recall the immediate pain; the shock of it had downed him almost instantly.

But he could remember waking up to a body half paralyzed, to choking on a mix of his own blood and vomit.

Things didn't really improve much after that, not for a few weeks.

As soon as he had been well enough to leave, he came here.

So the thought of going back, the thought of returning to where everything had come to head was... not exactly pleasant.

Let alone bearable.

"You don't know how you're going to react," Fujin finished.

Kung Jin wasn't entirely sure if he had made his point or not, but it didn't seem like he had to.

What Fujin said was exactly what he was thinking.

"Yeah," he nodded. "I just- I don't know- maybe I'll be fine, maybe I won't be. I just don't want to go back and absolutely lose it, you know?"

His wording could've been phrased better, but he didn't want to think too much on what needed to be said.

He was already uncomfortable with the topic as it was; he didn't want to put too much thought into it.

"We don't have to-"

"I know you want to go back," Kung Jin interrupted, cutting Fujin off before he could finish. "This could be the only chance we have and I'm not going to be the thing that stops you from doing so." He paused, just a brief minute to reaffirm himself, to at least commit to what he was saying. "If something happens, I can handle myself. It wouldn't be the first time I've had to pull myself back up."

"This isn't comparable," Fujin reminded.

And admittedly, the man was right.

He had pulled himself up from the rock bottom before, but this was a little heavier than what he had previously experienced. He couldn't exactly say with confidence that he could handle himself- or at least, he probably shouldn't promise that he could.

"You're right, it's not," Kung Jin agreed, "- but I'm willing to chance it."

"You shouldn't have to risk your health."

"Well, yeah maybe, but that's not your call to make," he reminded.

"And who do you think is the one getting us back to the Jinsei?" Fujin countered. "Because it sounds like it is my call to make."

The Wind God had him there.

And Fujin had him good.

"Please do not make a crack about jumping either," the man continued.

"I wasn't going to," Kung Jin assured, before he decided to change the direction of the conversation. "Look, you said we have a window of time here, why don't we just think things over for now? We can come back to this issue in an hour and make a decision then."

For a moment, it looked as though Fujin was going to counter him, before the man seemingly changed his mind.

And when Fujin went silent, Kung Jin could see the look of contemplation wash over the man.

He knew the God was trying to think over their options, getting a head start on it despite him willing to allow them time to cool off and come back to it. But Fujin was already caught up in thinking about what was awaiting them on the ground, thinking about what was waiting for them at the Jinsei Temple.

Kung Jin couldn't imagine what was going through Fujin's head.

There was the ordeal with Raiden, the ordeal with the Revenant, both of which seemed to revolve around him.

Having to come to terms with the fact that there wasn't anything anyone could do for either parties had to be weighing heavily on the Wind God. Fujin had already beaten himself up over not being able to do anything before, or perhaps even choosing not to do anything at all- and now came the realization that he still couldn't do anything.

It wasn't an easy conclusion to come to.

Going back would only bring that guilt to the surface again.

Fujin wasn't one to run away from things.

But he was the one who would pile everything on his own shoulders and then criticize himself for crumbling under the weight.

Kung Jin heard the man give a sigh, breaking himself out of contemplation, before he watched as Fujin carefully raked some of his loose hair back out of his face. It was a subconscious motion; one that he doubted Fujin even realized he was doing.

"It would be good to see Master Bo'Rai Cho again."

Those were not the words that Kung Jin was expecting to hear after such a long pause.

Especially given their previous conversation.

But perhaps Fujin wanted to go back to their earlier one, to try and convince himself that going back was the right choice for them.

"Speak for yourself," Kung Jin replied, without much thinking on his own part.

"Jin-"

The sharp reply was all he needed to realize he had spoken out of impulse.

"Okay, okay," he started, trying not to visibly laugh as he held one hand up in a mock sign of surrender. "I'm sorry, it would be... okay to see the old Master again- and make sure that he's recovered well."

Especially considering how the man had gotten nuked by Shinnok.

"See? Was that so hard?" Fujin replied, easily willing to forgive.

"One of the hardest things I've done today," Kung Jin remarked, taking one more stab at the man. "Look, despite what I said before, it would be nice to see the team again- if the weather permits it. Cassie said it wasn't the same without me there, and while I think she might've been lying to make me feel better, it wouldn't hurt to drop in and at least check in with everyone."

It wouldn't hurt to intermingle with people who were going through the same thing he was.

"The four of you shared an experience that has forged strong bonds between you."

"We shared a couple of experiences," Kung Jin corrected.

He let a moment of quiet pass between them, giving himself a chance to study the Wind God in front of him.

Giving himself a chance to figure out where exactly the both of them were in terms of a decision.

"What do you want to do, Fujin?"

The man looked to him at the question, before his eyes moved back to focus on the empty space between them.

"Let's give it another hour," the God replied. "I just want to enjoy the quiet a little longer."

Kung Jin wasn't a stranger to how one daunting event could upset just about everything in his life.

He had gotten used to it.

He had learned to deflect most stuff and let the rest roll off his back.

At some point, he must've turned it into a survival skill.

It had been in his best interest to learn how to deflect people and their opinions, to keep himself focused on him and only him. With the direction his life had gone at one point, Kung Jin had always made himself out to be his own number one priority; it was a given, but sometimes his selfish behavior got out of hand- expending beyond what the situation needed.

That was what living in Outworld had taught him.

And now, back in Earthrealm, back with the Shaolin, he was having to learn how to undo that mindset.

He was having to go through the numbers until they started to feel like days again.

Until they turned back to day and night cycles.

Until they turned back to living in the moment.

It was just another tally mark under the lessons that he had learned a little too early on in his life.

But by living in the moment, by being selfish and greedy, he had unintentionally outed himself- something that he had never planned on doing, not to anyone who knew him directly. It had been a well-guarded secret, but even Kung Jin had caught himself slipping up from time to time. He had almost slipped up in front of his father once and had only barely managed to redeem himself- but not without getting into another heated lecture with the man.

His father's words had been the defining point to him.

Almost sealing his escape to Outworld entirely.

But that night with Fujin, and the night that followed after, it felt like a weight had been shifted off of his shoulders.

It wasn't completely gone, but he could breathe a little easier now.

He still didn't know what they were going to do about it though, how they were going to move forward from this.

He wasn't entirely sure if there had been a commitment made somewhere between the two of them fumbling around with their own words. Kung Jin wasn't entirely sure if he even remembered what he had said to begin with. He had made vague confessions in the past, but those had been off-the-cuff, and temporary- something said to avoid another lonely Outworld night. There had been a few connections made here and there, but work kept him on the move. He couldn't say if he even remembered any of their names or not.

But now he was stuck here, stuck with what he had said, with what he had done- in a lack of better words anyways.

They had both decided to wait another hour before making a decision.

And while Kung Jin was positive that he knew what their decision would be, he didn't want to press the Wind God on it.

Not yet at least.

They had gone to bat enough as it was, more than they normally would.

Which just left them both with plenty to think about on their own.

Fujin was right about wanting to enjoy the silence offered by the temple for awhile longer.

The cold floors, however, were another story.

Kung Jin heard himself groan as he pushed himself to his feet, feeling the tension that tugged across his back and legs as he did so. Sitting for too long in the cold made it feel like his blood had congealed again; he could already feel the stiffness in his joints as his weight finally settled. It felt like he was still in the same condition as that morning, when he had struggled to pull himself out of bed.

"Are you alright?" Fujin questioned, looking concerned once more.

He really didn't like that look on the Wind God.

"I'm fine," Kung Jin assured, as he rubbed a hand against his lower back. "Just a little stiff. I'm gonna take another walk and get my blood moving again."

"I'll still be here when you get back."

When he got back.

Because there was still a conversation to have.

But at this point, Kung Jin was willing to admit that if it was even remotely warmer on the ground than he was all for going back at this point. Which he knew wasn't a guarantee, but it was certainly a point worth arguing for.

He moved around the small dormitory, which didn't offer much in the way of walking space, but it was enough to give him some room to himself. He always did his best thinking when he was moving, which might've been a trait carried over from his time in Outworld- where you had to think on your feet in order to survive. But it could still be applied to Earthrealm logic, as well as Shaolin logic.

Walking around did help him get feeling back into his legs and limbs, which made Kung Jin wonder if it was really the weather that was making him cold.

Maybe Fujin did have a point about there possibly being something wrong with him still.

Which would only add to his argument.

Kung Jin ended up back in the room he had been staying in.

He figured the least he could do with his time was pack up what he had left lying around- not that he had brought much with him to begin with.

It had been such a quick decision to come to the Wind Temple that he had only brought some spare clothing and about a dozen pill bottles, all of which were empty now- thankfully. And he was fine with leaving the clothing here for the time being; Kung Jin had a feeling that he would be back here anyways.

So really, there wasn't much for him to do here.

Other than tidy up his sleeping space, which admittedly was a mess.

He was a restless sleeper, more so as of late.

Kung Jin could remember spending a few days where he basically couldn't leave the bed.

A mix of pain keeping him from sleeping, and then the lack of sleep draining the energy out of his body.

Most of that had passed by now, but he still got the occasional nightmare that would keep him up.

Kung Jin pulled himself from his thoughts at the sound of quiet footsteps behind him, at the sound of them stepping through the open doorway to join him. He wondered just how long he had been standing there, sort of dazed out and flipping between his thoughts. He felt Fujin's hand brush against his back, as though to catch his attention, before he felt the slow ease of the man's arms around him.

He felt the gentle tug that pulled him back against the God's chest.

"What are you doing?"

Kung Jin wanted to laugh at how innocent the question sounded.

He wondered if Fujin had gone looking for him the moment he couldn't be tracked by the creaking of the floorboards.

"You know what I'm doing," Kung Jin answered.

There was a small pocket of silence that followed, before it was punctured by what sounded like a resonated sigh of defeat.

"I'm not going to win this one, am I?" Fujin questioned.

Touching the God on the arms, Kung Jin loosened the hold on him just enough to allow himself to turn around and face the other man. He could see the weariness still layered over the man's face; a look of defeat desperately seeking out a sense of solace. He hated to think their discussion before had only pushed the God even further between a rock and a hard place- but he also knew that it had.

"I'll cut you a deal," Kung Jin started, and then added, "- to make this a little easier on the both of us."

He could see a sense of intrigue and subtle dismay mix into Fujin's expression.

"We'll go to the Jinsei. You do your thing, I'll do my thing, and we'll see how it goes," he continued, as he moved his hands to rest on the man's biceps. "If it gets bad, I can always check out with the team- who should be far away from the Jinsei anyways. And who probably have a better way of handling this to begin with. And if that doesn't fix it, you can always just bring me back here, alright?"

He decided not to bring up the fact that they only had a window of opportunity here.

Which meant that should something get out of hand, they might not even be able to access the Wind Temple by that point.

Fujin didn't seem completely convinced by the offer, but the God still took his time in thinking it over- out of courtesy.

Kung Jin could feel the shifting movement of the man's arms around him; a small give away to the man's thought process.

"No arguing," Fujin finally spoke.

A rather simple addition given how long he had taken to speak.

"No speaking over me," Kung Jin reminded.

A small counter-offer.

He felt Fujin's arms squeeze him again.

"Deal."

A quick agreement- one that had him giving out a small breath of relief.

"Finally, something we can agree on," he remarked, as he moved his hands to Fujin's shoulders now. He gently squeezed at them, feeling the stiffness that lingered before it melted away underneath his palms. "See? That wasn't so hard, was it?"

The Wind God humored him with a quiet chuckle, easily picking up on the subtle mockery. "Everything about you is about making compromises, isn't it?"

An amusing accusation.

"What can I say? Bartering is a skill I have- and I'm good at it," Kung Jin replied.

He heard the man chuckle once more and watched as Fujin leaned into him- a motion he stopped by bringing his hands to catch the Wind God's jaw.

"Careful, you'll seal the deal this way, and then there's no going-"

He didn't get to finish as he felt Fujin pull him in instead, cutting him off by overtaking him by the lips.

A muffled laugh escaped him with the gesture before Kung Jin tugged the Wind God in closer, sealing any space that remained between them. He moved his hands to cradle Fujin's face, curling his fingers against the man's cheeks as he kept himself anchored to him. Even Fujin's lips felt cold, but at this point Kung Jin couldn't say that his were warm either.

"Go," Kung Jin whispered, as he made the reluctant choice to pull himself away from the man. As much as he was enjoying the moment, they were running out of time- and if he kept the Wind God here for any longer, something else was bound to happen between them that would set them even further back. "I have a couple of things I still need to do- and I can't get anything done with you around."

"Sounds like a self-control issue," Fujin remarked, and then laughed when Kung Jin continued to keep him at arm's length from him. "Alright, alright, I'm going. When you are through here, meet with me out front; I'll be waiting."

"I will-" he started, only to find himself cut off as the Wind God pulled him into one more kiss.

"That was the last one, I swear-"

Fujin was gone before he had a chance to retaliate.

And Kung Jin waited until the man had stepped out into the hallway, until he heard his footsteps disappear, before he turned back to the mess in front of him.

It really wasn't much, but he was never really a guest that often, so he didn't want to make himself out to be an ungrateful one. All there really was for him to do was strip the bedding off and drop it into the nearby basket at the foot of the bed. He could technically go ahead and soak the sheets, but given that he wasn't entirely sure when they would be back, he didn't want them to sour in the meantime.

And if they did end up coming back, at least he would have something to do.

Most of his own clothing was in a separate hamper, although he did pick up the pieces that didn't quite make it in.

He ended up changing into another set of clothes, for no reason other than they looked a little better than the casual ones he was wearing. Not to mention his previous clothes were still a little damp from his shower earlier, from having absorbed the water off of his skin.

Rubbing at his face, Kung Jin stifled a yawn before he moved to a nearby mirror to give himself a brief look over- and even then, he just glanced once before he headed out to meet with Fujin again.

If he went back to the Jinsei Temple looking like shit, it was well within his right to do so.

He doubted anyone would be able to blame him.

Making his way out of the dormitory, Kung Jin stepped back out onto the floating courtyards- noticing that it wasn't the same courtyard from that morning. He couldn't exactly pick out which of the floating platforms it was now, but it just reminded him once more of how this temple was all the more suiting for the Wind God.

Fujin was staring back out into the horizon, looking out into the black clouds that were circling ominously in the distance.

It was the same scene from that morning.

And Kung Jin still got that feeling of an impending Armageddon inside of him as he made his way towards the Wind God.

Fujin turned at his approach, halo eyes lit up again against the dark backdrop behind him.

They looked like a beacon hidden in the night.

And just like him, Fujin had apparently changed into a different uniform as well.

This one was a little more appropriate, a little more regal than his look from before; which was an obvious hint that the Wind God was going somewhere important, somewhere where his status was praised.

Fujin had on a fitted white shirt with black accents cutting across it; it hugged close to his neck while putting his shoulders out on full display- revealing the blue tattoo that glowed with a soft light over his skin.

There was a rather large, metallic shield-like object over his abdomen, with a thick band circling around his midsection, creating an interesting silhouette from a distance. Going off first impressions, it looked more like a waist-cincher than a belt, but in all honesty, Kung Jin wasn't exactly sure what it was supposed to be. And he wasn't positive that Fujin knew what it was either.

It was still a pretty casual looking uniform compared to the others that Fujin normally wore- and even compared to what Raiden wore.

And yet, it looked oddly ethereal on the man, especially with his white eyes now glowing and his white braid whipping about behind him again.

"How is it you keep looking better and better?" Kung Jin teased.

"It's in the accents," Fujin replied, easily humored by his remark- although it didn't take long before his expression settled. Before his eyes took on a more serious, yet cautious look to them. "Are you ready to go?"

A tough question.

But they had already gone through the hoops of it.

[And they had already made a deal of it as well.]

"About as ready as I'm going to be," Kung Jin answered.

He watched as Fujin held a hand out to him and he walked over to accept it, feeling that tight squeeze that followed.

A last minute hint of reassurance.

And even though Kung Jin knew what was about to happen, even though he knew what to expect, he still felt a knot form in his stomach as Fujin surrounded the both of them in a spiraling cloud of wind- covering them in a cloak of the man's own magic. And even though Kung Jin could feel the wind on his skin, and felt how it whipped at his clothing, the rushing air didn't feel like anything; it wasn't hot or cold, or anything in-between.

He forgot just how simple Fujin made the ordeal look, and how easy it was for the man to complete such a feat.

The only thing Kung Jin felt throughout the ordeal was the initial jolt of the energy as it encapsulated them inside of it. And while he was usually pretty good at dealing with the sudden rush of motion, he had been less accepting of it now and days- which made him glad that the quick teleport ended as quickly as it had.

It felt like his feet barely left the courtyard tiles before the wind stopped circulating around them.

Before the wind dissipated completely, now revealing the barren court of the Jinsei Temple in front of them.